· CUP and ARCA in Pocono, PA· F1 in Canada· 24 Hours of Le Mans· IndyCar double-header in Texas· Camping World Trucks in Texas· MotoGP at Silverstone in England· World Superbike in San Marino· AMA Motocross in Mt. Morris, PA· The Dream dirt late model race at Eldora

Ferrari F458 Italia Big Flip 2011 Ferrari Challenge Europa at Le MansThis happened Saturday morning at Le Mans during the program before the 24h race-start. There was the Ferrari Challenge race which saw this spectacular looking crash:

The Belgian rookie was the only driver in the field to fail to achieve a Q1 lap time within 107 per cent of the fastest runner.

But it emerged late on Saturday afternoon that Virgin Racing argued to the stewards that d'Ambrosio, 25, should be allowed to start the race because he had to tackle the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a brand new chassis.

Stoner roars to fourth pole of the yearCasey Stoner left nothing to chance this afternoon and scored his fourth pole of the season and thirtieth of his career (26 in MotoGP class) at the Silverstone circuit, which will tomorrow host the sixth round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship. Team mate Andrea Dovizioso will start on the second row of the grid, in fifth position.

The Australian Repsol Honda rider completed a stunningly fast lap seven minutes before the end of the qualifying session. His 2'02.020 lap was 1.2 seconds quicker than the 2010 pole position set by Jorge Lorenzo. However, Stoner's pace is not only impressive on the flying lap but also for race pace: in the one hour qualifying practice, he completed 5 laps under the 2010 pole position and 8 laps under the circuit record (2'03.526).

Canadian GP: Vettel tops final practiceSebastian Vettel topped final practice for the Canadian Grand Prix, the Red Bull driver setting the pace ahead of qualifying in Montreal after crashing on Friday.

The world champion's fast lap was 1m13.381s to outpace Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Nico Rosberg was third quickest for Mercedes, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa in fourth and the McLarens of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton in fifth and sixth.

LeMans: McNish destroys Audi in first hourAllan McNish made a dumb aggressive move in the first hour in his #3 Audi and survived a huge crash in this year's Le Mans 24 Hours. His new Audi R18 was destroyed, but he climbed out OK.

McNish was trying to win the race in the first hour and was challenging teammate Timo Bernhard for the lead when he dived down the inside at the right-hander after the Dunlop Bridge. He made it past Bernhard, but clipped the number 58 Ferrari 458 of Anthony Beltoise and spun across the gravel trap and into the tire barrier and guiderail.

The car, which McNish was to share with Tom Kristensen and Rinaldo Capello, became airborne and smashed against the barriers, with some debris making it over the fence into a photographer's area.

The R18 TDI had to be turned right side up before McNish could climb out. He was taken to the medical centre.

Head of Audi Sport Dr Wolfgang Ulrich said: "The Ferrari touched the right rear of the Audi and it lost control.

FIA's chronology on the Bahrain GPThe FIA have released a chronological account of the events the unfolded with regards to the hosting of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Prior to the World Council meeting of 8 March 2011: Taking into account the unrest in the country, the organizers of the GP (Bahrain Motor Federation),

having expressed their inability to host the GP on the date of 13 March, were given the opportunity by the WMSC of proposing, no later than 1 May, an alternative date for the Grand Prix. The President of the FIA asked the commercial rights holder (FOWCL) to finalize this date proposal.

1 May: at the organizers’ request, the President of the FIA agreed to extend this deadline until 3 June, the date of the WMSC meeting.

In a 10-page ruling, Cuyahoga County Judge Peter J. Corrigan upheld a $4.5 million verdict awarded to Westgate Ford Truck Sales, Inc. of Youngstown, and said Ford must pay similar damages and interest to a class of about 3,000 other dealers. "We are pleased that the court and a unanimous jury agreed that Ford's pricing program violated our contractual rights by systematically overcharging the dealers who purchased medium and heavy trucks," said attorney James Lowe, who represented the plaintiffs.

Virgin Racing Team Principal John Booth has confirmed that Jerome D’Ambrosio will be forced to use spare chassis for the rest of the weekend after his practice crash in Montreal on Friday, with the Belgian driver running wide at the Turn 3/4 chicane before hitting the outside wall violently, causing significant damage to his MVR-02.

"It has been a particularly tough start to our weekend in Montreal and as a consequence the mechanics and engineers have a long evening ahead of them to get us back on track," Booth explained.

Richard Childress, Owner of Richard Childress Racing, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway. The transcript:

RICHARD CHILDRESS: "Here is the deal. I am going to make one statement on this deal. I appreciate everyone's patience during the last week when I couldn't talk to everyone. The main thing is I take all the responsibility for my actions last week. I am very passionate about this sport. I am passionate about my race teams, our fans and I let my emotions get and come in front of my passion. But that is behind us. I guess the next thing is the fine that was levied against me, I'm going to pay it personally. I agree that NASCAR should have done something with me. I don't agree that they didn't handle the situation that happened on the cool-down lap. With that said, we had a lot of fans to send in donations last week toward our fine, I am going to pay it personally. All that money that has been sent in, that is still coming in, we're going to take and donate to the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma. At least in every bad situation, something good will come out of it. Hopefully Kyle (Busch) and myself will both end up learning something from this. Thank you all very much. Talk to you later. That's it. Team Chevy PR

Toyota Racing, #18-Kyle Busch, spoke to the media at Pocono, some notes and quotes:

Do you feel you have a respect issue in the garage and do you need respect in the garage to be successful?"Can't answer the first part for you -- you would have to ask everybody else. As far as needing respect in the garage area -- certainly. It makes your day a little bit easier. Makes your job a little bit easier. I've been able to have good conversations and talk to people outside the race car or at driver intros or stuff like that. Whether it's the case that they're not being true to my face -- I don't know, I can't read that. I'm not in people's minds. If you're mad at me, you'll have to tell me."

Ryan Newman, met with members of the media at Pocono Raceway and discussed fines in NASCAR, a Team Chevy transcript in part:

DID YOU GET A FINE FROM NASCAR FOR SOMETHING IN THE HAULER WITH JUAN PABLO MONTOYA?"I've always said that private things happen privately and what happens in the trailer stays in the trailer and there is a reason that we have private meetings and there is a reason that NASCAR does things the way they do."

DO YOU THINK THAT IT SHOULD MATTER TO NASCAR WHETHER IT GIVES A FINE PRIVATELY OR PUBLICALLY AS TO WHETHER ANOTHER COMPETITOR HAS THREATENED LEGAL ACTION?"I don't know anything about the legal action part of things. I do know that when we are talking about fines, whether it is private or public, there is nothing really we should elaborate on because it is not something that our sport should be proud of or should elaborate. To me, it is something for you guys to write, but it is not something that is good for our sport so it's not something we want to keep talking about first of all. In every other sport, to my knowledge, out there has it, whether it's golf, basketball, football, whatever. I don't know how they handle it, whether it is publically, privately or both, but, I'll just say that it is a negative aspect of our sport and we should all be talking about the positive things." Team Chevy

For practice, qualifying and the race, all competitors must compete with transmission gear ratios as follows: 1st gear optional; 2nd gear 1.70:1 or greater (1.699 or less will not be permitted); 3rd gear 1.14:1 or greater (1.139 or less will not be permitted); 4th gear must remain 1.00:1. Overdrive ratios will not be permitted.

This is an addendum to the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book which states: Transmission gear ratios between 1.00:1 and 1.28:1 will not be permitted for the remaining forward transmission gears except road course Events. Overdrive gears will not be permitted.

Said John Darby, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director: "There has been some confusion that shifting was not allowed at Pocono, and that isn't true. The real reason shifting stopped at Pocono was because gear ratios weren't compatible for shifting. Over the last few years, teams have done it with limited success but not on a consistent basis. So, what we did was change transmission gear ratios to make it easier on engines and give teams a better opportunity to use third gear and shift. Primarily it's in an effort to allow the drivers to maximize the RPM on each of the three straightaways. When you look at the race track, you instantly see the issue that they're faced with. The frontstretch is more than 3,700 feet [3,740], the backstretch or the Long Pond Straight is 3,000 [3,055] feet and the short straightaway between the Tunnel Turn and Turn 3 is only 1,780 feet. So consequently [there will be] a straightaway that you don't get anywhere near your maximum potential RPM. This is all done in an effort to try to even those three straightaways out in the RPM that the engine will attain." NASCAR

Danica Danica Danica DanicaDanica Patrick is not even in Pocono this weekend for the NASCAR races, she is in Texas for the IndyCar race. So what is the Associated Press reporter who covers NASCAR, Chris Jenkins, writing about? Well Danica of course.

They run easy flat side-by-side all night long at Texas. What is there to talk about?

After a contentious meeting last month at Indianapolis Motor Speedway over the series' new double-file restarts, Izod IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard tried a softer pitch Friday with statistics. Gathering the 30 drivers at Texas Motor Speedway 45 minutes before qualifying Friday, series officials shared raw data that indicated small spikes in TV ratings pegged to when several restarts occurred.

"We built (ratings) graphs in 15-minute increments and put the double-file restarts on the graphs," Bernard said. "In 14 of 20 restarts, we had small increases. It's too early to see if it's a solid correlation. But if there's any truth to that, it's pretty substantial." [Editor's Note: Indeed, race fans are physic - they had a vision a restart was coming so they switched on that channel to see it each time and they got a spike in the ratings. .]

The meeting was a show of good faith after Bernard was summoned by drivers to an impromptu gathering before the Indianapolis 500 that turned heated.

Brian France's divorce case gets messierNASCAR Chairman Brian France wants to scrap an agreement with his ex-wife that calls for him to pay the mother of his two children millions of dollars, as well as more than $40,000 a month in alimony and child support.

France claims his former wife, Megan France, has breached their separation agreement, and he’s fighting in court to get the deal rescinded.

“She got a boatload of money,” Brian France’s attorney, Johnny Stephenson, told a Mecklenburg judge in a hearing that began last week and resumed on Friday.

Indy 500 stunt fires up Hot Wheels brand532 million media impressions to date, over 100 million hits in the UK alone for Mattel stunt.

The Hot Wheels stunt at the recent Indy 500 has significantly boosted awareness for the brand across the globe.

Notably, some 532 million media impressions, with over 100 million hits in the UK, have been recorded to date. Coverage was secured across a full range of media including prime time TV, national print and online newspapers, lifestyle, parenting, boys' press, blogs and social media.

The stunt became the most popular entertainment video on YouTube and was the number one searched story on Google.

Texas IndyCar Friday NotebookThe IZOD IndyCar Series will compete in the Firestone Twin 275s, a doubleheader of 114-lap races at 7:45 p.m. (CT) Saturday. The second race will follow approximately an hour after the first race concludes.

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This is the 22nd IZOD IndyCar Series event at Texas Motor Speedway. Ryan Briscoe won the race in 2010. Gil de Ferran holds the single-lap qualifying record with a lap of 23.5031 seconds, 222.864 mph set in October 2003. Scott Dixon holds the four-lap qualifying record of 214.878 mph set in 2009. Past winners Ryan Briscoe (2010), Scott Dixon (2008), Helio Castroneves (2009, 2006 and Oct. 2004) and Tony Kanaan (June 2004) are entered in the event.

Danica Patrick lobbies IndyCar Series for more oval racesFor Danica Patrick, racing at Texas Motor Speedway is "IndyCar at its best." The 1.5-mile oval also is a reminder of how she thinks the Izod IndyCar Series could be better.

During a news conference prior to practice and qualifying for Saturday night's Firestone Twin 275s, the circuit's most popular driver made some pointed comments about the series' shift toward road courses.

The Indy Racing League was an all-oval series at its 1996 inception but gradually has moved toward a more balanced schedule since it began adding road and street courses in 2005. The trend accelerated with the 2008 absorption of the Champ Car Series (which brought street and road circuits in Long Beach, Calf., Edmonton and Toronto). Since CEO Randy Bernard's reign began last year, the series has severed its relationship with the ovals of the International Speedway Corp. and dropped Chicagoland, Homestead and Kansas this year.

HRT wavers in opposition to blown exhaust ban(GMM) HRT is apparently no longer pushing so hard to have exhaust blown diffusers banned in 2011.

At recent races, the Spanish team has been threatening to protest the results after the FIA vowed to crack down on the technology that has moved into the realm of outlawed 'moveable aerodynamic devices'.

But ahead of this weekend's Canadian grand prix, Hispania announced that one of their developments is a "new exhaust system".

It emerged during morning practice in Montreal that, in collaboration with engine supplier Cosworth, the system is indeed a blown exhaust.

That means that the only team not running a blown exhaust of any type at present is HRT's nearest competitor, Virgin, who according to Auto Motor und Sport will not be ready to re-introduce a similar layout until Silverstone.

Bryan Clausen to be the Busiest Driver in the Milwaukee 225 WeekendThere is no doubt Bryan Clausen will be the busiest driver at the Milwaukee Mile on June 17-19.

Clausen, the 22-year-old Noblesville, Ind., driver, will compete in three separate divisions during the Milwaukee 225 racing weekend in an effort to pull off one of the most spectacular racing achievements in Mile history.

The two-time USAC National Midget champion will begin his attempt to pull off the unique “triple” on Friday, June 17, with Firestone Indy Lights practice and qualifying in the Sam Schmidt “Road to Indy” open-wheel machine followed by practice and qualifying in the Tony Stewart Racing Silver Crown Chevy and the Corey Tucker Racing Midget racer.

Nico Rosberg put Mercedes at the top of the timesheets in opening practice for Sunday's Canadian GP F1 race in Montreal. Fernando Alonso was 2nd quick in his Ferrari ahead of the other Mercedes of Michael Schumacher.

Felipe Massa was 4th for Ferrari ahead of the two McLaren's of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton.

Sebastian Vettel added to the 'Wall of Champions' legend on Friday by crashing at the famous final chicane in morning practice.

Former champions Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill - as well as the highly rated Juan Pablo Montoya, David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello, Nico Rosberg and others - have all in the past fallen afoul the famous outside barrier after getting the corner wrong in Montreal.

Another accident sends Moss into permanent retirementSir Stirling Moss has officially hung up his helmet following a qualifying incident ahead of this weekend’s Le Mans Legends race. The Englishman, whose professional career effectively ended with a Goodwood crash in 1962, finished as Formula 1 runner-up for four consecutive seasons between 1955 and 1958.

Having enjoyed a total of 212 victories across his racing career, Moss has now elected to quit at the age of 81. After his quartet of second place finishes, he proceeded to finish third in the Drivers’ Championships of 1959, 1960 and 1961. While competing at Goodwood in 1962, Moss narrowly escaped death after an accident and subsequent coma.

Bahrain GP officially cancelledF1's Bahrain Grand Prix "has been canceled for 2011," as local organizers today announced that "they would not pursue plans to stage the rescheduled event on Oct. 30." Bahrain Int'l Circuit Chair Zayed Alzayani in a statement said, "It has been made clear that this fixture cannot progress and we fully respect that decision." The event was originally scheduled for March but was canceled "due to political unrest." The FIA last week announced the new fall date, but "teams objected because of logistical and insurance reasons"

Stoner tops opening practice at SilverstoneCasey Stoner comfortably headed the MotoGP field during first practice at Silverstone this morning, with the Repsol Honda rider completing a personal best effort of 2:03.748 to finish over half a second ahead of nearest rival Marco Simoncelli. The Gresini rider posted a time precisely 0.659 seconds than Stoner on the timesheets, while reigning Champion Jorge Lorenzo completed the top three.

Air and track temperatures of just 13°C (55°F) and 21°C (70°F) made life difficult for the riders as they took to the circuit for the first time, with a cold track surface offering little in the way of grip. Stoner ultimately carried on from where he left off in Spain, moving to the front in dominant style with the time he set on his 11th lap of the morning, a long way clear of Simoncelli and Lorenzo.

Chevrolet dealers in all 50 states will begin taking orders for the 2012 Chevrolet Volt electric car today.

The suggested retail price for the award-winning Volt will start at $39,995 (or $32,496 assuming a full federal tax credit of $7,500, which is subject to the customer’s eligibility). The price includes an $850 destination freight charge but excludes tax, title and license fees. The starting price of the 2012 model is more than $1,000 below the 2011 base model.

The lower base price is possible in part because of a wider range of options and configurations that come with the expansion of Volt production for sale nationally. The 2011 model was available in just seven states and the District of Columbia.

FIA waiting for new calendar from Ecclestone(GMM) The key to calling off the rescheduled 2011 Bahrain grand prix is held by Bernie Ecclestone.

That was the claim of the FIA on Friday, after F1 chief executive Ecclestone confirmed the Sakhir race is "not on" and the circuit admitted it will not host the race in October.

Official confirmation from the sport's governing body, however, is still missing, with the FIA website showing Bahrain deleted from the calendar despite the recent World Motor Sport Council decision and India - originally with the October 30 date - now unlisted as "to be announced".

"In the light of the statement by the Bahrain International Circuit, we are now waiting for the commercial rights holder (Ecclestone) to suggest a new calendar to the World Motor Sport Council," a FIA spokesman is quoted by Reuters.

IndyCar denies Hildebrand's fuel tank was illegalThe fuel tank and caution light controversies dogging the end of last month's Indianapolis 500 are without merit, the race's chief steward said Thursday.

Brian Barnhart said he confirmed with Honda, the Izod IndyCar Series' sole engine supplier, that runner-up finisher JR Hildebrand did not use more than the allowable 22 gallons of fuel in the final laps.

The amount of fuel in his Panther Racing machine came under fire this week in a story published by Canada's largest newspaper, the Globe and Mail. The newspaper, which cited unidentified sources, said other teams believe Panther fiddled with the fuel capacity.

New 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying proceduresStarting this weekend in Pocono, the Sprint Cup Series will qualify as follows:

1) qualifying order will be determined by the driver's fastest lap in first practice.2) times on the speed sheet will be inverted with the slowest cars attempting their qualifying runs first3) go-or-go-home cars will now qualify among the 35 teams locked in on owner points and not be separated by the field. 4) the NASCAR Sprint Cup director does reserve the right to change a driver's qualifying order or allow "adjustments or repairs" to cars after the car has taken the green flag at the start/finish line.5) all cars must qualify with a full fuel cell.

Wilson Sporting Goods Named Official Apparel Provider for the Milwaukee 225Wilson, a worldwide sports brand leader, has signed with promoter AB Promotions, LLC to be the apparel supplier for the upcoming Milwaukee 225 IZOD IndyCar Series weekend at the famed Milwaukee Mile oval track in the Wisconsin State Fair Park on June 17-19.

The Milwaukee 225 event, with the addition of Wilson, has been attracting sponsors at a rapid rate with the biggest racing event of the year in Wisconsin approaching a month away. The exciting 185-mile per hour action at the historic Mile oval track will have some of the world’s greatest drivers in wheel-to-wheel competition during the Father’s Day weekend spectacular.

Williams sponsor, AT&T, helps cars perform betterWilliams F1 has worked together with AT&T to increase the rate of vital data transfer from the AT&T Williams’ operations at the track to the technical support team based at its headquarters. This increase in speed allows the team to evaluate data faster and contributes to better decision making in the fast-paced environment of Formula One.

The company announced it is adding an AT&T WAN Acceleration Service - provided by AT&T - that will run its network 25 times faster than a standard broadband solution. The service:

Octane Racing Group announces that all grandstand tickets for the 2011 edition of the Grand Prix du Canada have been sold. As of 5 pm on Thursday, only one-day or three-day general admission tickets are available for the event.

"The unfailing support of the race fans enables us once again to make the Grand Prix du Canada one of, or if not, the most popular event of the Formula 1 season," said François Dumontier, President of the Grand Prix du Canada and Octane Racing Group, promoter of the event. "The prospect of offering worldwide images of grandstands filled to capacity pleases me to the utmost. This makes me proud of our city, of its citizens and all the fans coming from all corners of Quebec that make up the bulk of our clientele. I must thank them once again for their support."

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